Iwan Rheon on Ramsay Bolton's Demise and Who Deserves the Iron Throne

Sunday night's Game of Thrones brought one character death few (if any) will mourn. Ramsay Bolton's execution at the hands of his victimized wife, Sansa Stark, and a pack of starving hounds (following a bloody beatdown from Jon Snow) was one of the most satisfying downfalls in the series' history, not to mention a rare happy ending for a show that picks off its main characters like an archer in battle (too soon?).

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For the record, actor Iwan Rheon, the man behind the mania, is happy to see Ramsay go. "I don't really sympathize with him," Rheon tells HarpersBAZAAR.com. "He had it coming." But something tells us Rheon won't be unemployed for long; his lengthy resume includes a variety of roles that show off his impressive range, from a painfully awkward juvenile delinquent with superpowers on British dramedy Misfits to the handsome, clean-cut neighbor of Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi on ITV/PBS's Vicious. Here, Rheon opens up about saying goodbye to his much-loathed character, who he wants to see sit on the Iron Throne and what's next for him.

HB: I know we're talking about Game of Thrones today, but I have to tell you I'm a huge Misfits fan. What attracts you to playing such complicated, challenging characters?

Iwan Rheon: The characters I tend to play are a little more interesting than the standard heroes. Romantic leads can be a little more straightforward, I guess. But it just seems to be the parts I get, I don't know what that says about me. I enjoy interesting characters and interesting people, I suppose.

HB: What's it like to play a character so universally despised?

IR: [Laughs] I don't really let all the stuff that's happening outside really affect me, I just do my job and then get on with it, you know? If everyone is despising him that means I'm doing my job properly, so I guess that's a good thing!

HB: Is there any part of you that's sad to see Ramsay go?

IR: Yeah! Well, in terms of me personally leaving the show, I'm very sad to not be in it anymore, obviously because it's so great to be part of something so amazing. I'm not sad to see Ramsay go, although I am going through a sort of grieving period in a weird way, to see it actually happen. It's a shame but I've had a really wonderful four years on the show so I feel very grateful for that.

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HB: You've been in his head for four years. Is there any part of you that sympathizes with him?

IR: Not really. Weirdly when I'm watching it I'm kind of on his side but that's because I'm so biased towards him. Really, I'm happy that Jon Snow and the Starks are back in Winterfell. I think that's the right thing and I think it moves everything forward. They're back in their rightful home. It's great to see that direwolf sigil banner being dropped down the castle wall. I don't really sympathize with him. He had it coming.

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HB: How did you learn you were being killed off? Did you get a phone call or read the script ?

IR: I got a phone call as I was midway through reading the script so I hadn't got to my demise yet. They said, "Congratulations, Ramsay finally gets to the Iron Throne!" At which point I immediately knew they were joking and my character was a goner.

HB: Did you have any idea it was coming this season?

IR: Yeah, I kind of saw it. You know, he's ridden so high and he's such a wild card and he rules with fear. It's only so long until that implodes around you, as we see in the history of this world—the actual world. It was only a matter of time until he went wrong.

HB: What was the most challenging part of playing him?

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IR: In terms of challenges as an actor, the energy that you need to bring into everything. It's when you're doing the same scene over and over, all day long, you need to keep your levels up for your own performance and for the other actors. And Ramsay liked to talk a lot, so he does have a lot of lines usually—which I don't mind, it's great! Also finding that sort of joy that he has in everything, but also to not go over the top; it's such a fine line with a character like that because it could've been over the top and a bit caricature and I wanted to try and avoid that.

HB: Was it difficult to get into that mindset though? He's such a dark, evil character.

IR: Yeah, there's certain things he did which I found particularly difficult to stomach and particularly difficult to imagine doing and actually filming, so a lot of things were tough. But because the nature of the character is so happy and he has so much joy in everything he does and he loves life, that helps in a weird way. If it was all dark, it would be really tiring, but because he's so extroverted it's kind of cathartic for him, which helps me.

HB: What was it like shooting that last episode? I read Kit [Harington] landed a couple actual punches on you.

IR: If he didn't, he wasn't doing it properly, was he? [Laughs] I think I got a shield in the jaw, that was the worst one. But when you're doing those scenes, you need to go for it, and I wanted Kit to go for it. I told him to go for it and not to worry about it, because it needed to look great and it did look great. If you get caught a couple of times that just means you're doing it properly. It's not the end of the world. I survived.

HB: How about that last scene with Sansa, did that feel cathartic? A proper way for him to go?

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IR: Yeah, I'm glad that he got a good sending, because I would've hated to have a rubbish death. I think it's really nice that it comes from Sansa, after all the horror that she's been through, to finally have that power. It'll be very interesting to see what happens with her in the future.

HB: What will you miss most about being on the show?

IR: I'll miss this time of year when the scripts start coming through and it all starts kicking off again. You get to start reading the next season. It's a really exciting time of year. And then the excitement of going to Belfast and seeing everyone, hanging out, then doing the actual job and getting these amazing scenes written for you, I'll really miss that.

HB: Who do you want to see on the Iron Throne?

IR: Oh, Jon Snow! I think he'd be the best ruler.

HB: What's next for you?

IR: Well, there's a few things in the pipeline. I'd like to do some more music stuff as well, so I guess we'll see! Hopefully it'll be an exciting end of year.

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